Guide
Frame and liner defects are among the most commonly reported fire door failures, and among the most frequently misjudged. This guide explains how the frame contributes to the performance of the doorset, what can usually be put right in situ, and when replacing the assembly is the more defensible answer.
A fire doorset is tested and documented as a complete assembly. The leaf, the frame or liner, the intumescent and smoke seals, the hinges and the latching hardware are all part of what was tested. Treating the frame as trim around the door — something that can be swapped, packed out or planed to suit — is where a great many fire door problems begin.
That matters practically. A perfectly sound fire door leaf hung in a loose, split or unidentified frame cannot reasonably be relied upon to perform, and neither can a new leaf dropped into a frame nobody can identify. The starting point is always the evidence available for that specific opening: labels, plugs, building records, previous reports and the physical condition of the frame and its fixings.
Where the specification of the doorset cannot be established at all, the reasoning in our guide to fire door repair or replacement applies to the frame just as it does to the leaf.
The following come up repeatedly on inspection reports and fire risk assessment action lists. Most have a practical remedy; a few are warning signs that the opening needs to be reconsidered as a whole.
Usually repairable
Frames that move when the door is closed, or that were fixed with too few or unsuitable fixings, can commonly be re-fixed correctly in line with the manufacturer's installation guidance for that doorset and wall construction.
Usually repairable
Split, short or previously removed stops affect how the leaf sits and how the seals perform. New stops of the correct dimension and fixing method can normally be provided where the frame itself is sound.
Usually repairable
Grooves that have been over-painted, filled, chipped or cut about can often be cleaned out or re-formed so compatible intumescent and smoke seals can be reinstated to the correct detail.
Often repairable
Localised damage to jambs and liners in corridors, bin stores and service routes is frequently made good. Where damage extends into the fixing zone or has broken the frame's continuity, we look harder at replacement.
Depends on evidence
The gap between frame and structural opening must be packed and sealed to the detail the doorset documentation and the wall construction require. Foam of unknown type, loose offcuts or open voids need opening up and putting right properly.
Depends on evidence
A softwood liner with no identifying evidence may or may not be suitable. Some evidence can be recovered from building files or the original supplier; where none exists, a doorset of known specification is often the more reliable outcome.
Often replacement
Where the opening has moved, or the frame was never installed square, gaps cannot reliably be brought within tolerance by adjustment alone. Replacing the frame with the leaf usually gives a better and more durable result.
Often replacement
Decayed jambs and thresholds, particularly at external and semi-exposed openings, rarely justify piecemeal repair. The surrounding construction should be reviewed at the same time.
The junction between the frame and the wall is part of the fire separation, not a decorative detail. If the perimeter is not correctly packed and sealed, the doorset can be entirely compliant in itself and the opening still fails to do its job.
We do not quote a single universal gap dimension or a single sealing product, because the correct answer depends on the doorset manufacturer's installation instructions, the wall construction — masonry, blockwork, timber stud, metal stud or drylining — and the fire-stopping products for which suitable evidence exists in that application.
Frame work is priced door by door, not as a blanket rate. Where you already hold a report or action list, we work from your door references so the quotation reconciles directly against your document and can be signed off item by item.
For each opening we separate what we consider repairable from what we would recommend replacing, and we note anywhere we would want to open up or verify before committing to a method. Where a formal fire door inspection report is required, that can be arranged through a specialist fire door inspection contractor; our own site assessment confirms the scope and cost of remedial or replacement work and is not a formal inspection report. See fire door inspections for how that works.
Completed work is recorded against the same door references — see records and close-out evidence.
Frame and liner work usually forms part of a wider programme.
Send us your inspection report or fire risk assessment action list, or simply tell us what you are seeing, and we will set out door by door what can reasonably be repaired and where we would recommend replacing the assembly.